Rules about school uniform, hair & body Do I have to wear a uniform at school? What happens if I can’t afford to buy the school uniform? My school says all students have to get the uniform from one supplier and they’re really expensive. Is this allowed? Can a teacher send me home if I’m not in the correct uniform? Can my school make me wear a uniform to and from school? Do I have to wear my uniform on school trips and outings? I’m Maori – can I wear a taonga at school? Can I dress in a way that is important to my religion, culture or nationality? I’m a transgender student – can I wear the uniform of the gender I identify with? I’m a girl – do I have to wear a skirt or dress? Can my school tell me what to do with my hair while I’m at school? Can my school stop me from getting a piercing or tattoo? Can I wear makeup at school? Can the school have different hair rules for boys and girls? How do I know if I’m following the school rules? I disagree with my school’s rules, what can I do?
Most schools in NZ require you to wear a uniform while you’re at school or representing the school and will also have certain restrictions on your appearance, like how your hair must look or what piercings and tattoos you can show on your body.
This section gives you some insight about the rules schools can have on how you look while you’re at school or representing the school.
You must wear the school uniform if your school has uniform rules.
While the law around how the right to freedom of expression balances with the school’s ability to make school rules including rules about the uniform is unclear, it’s probably reasonable for a school to make you wear a school uniform.
The uniform rules must be written down and agreed by the school Board of Trustees and the uniform rules must be specific and certain.
Being unable to afford a uniform should not stop you from going to school and most schools will understand this. Some schools have a second-hand clothing exchange where uniform items can be purchased at a cheaper price.
If your caregivers are getting a benefit through Work and Income New Zealand (WINZ) or are on a low income, they may be able to ask WINZ to help pay for your school uniform.
You will need a letter from your school’s uniform shop saying how much the uniform costs before WINZ will look into providing the finances.
Probably. However, the law says that schools can’t do things which restrict market competition. If exclusive arrangements with suppliers are pushing prices up and if parents would be better off if more than one supplier was allowed to provide school uniforms, the schools should consider it. Schools have to ensure that any negotiation process with a supplier is transparent, meaning that it should be open for people to ask questions and there should be no secrets or closed-door deals.
No, not unless you were also stood down, suspended or you attend an integrated or private school and it is a school rule.
Any punishment you get at a public school for breaching the school uniform rules should be the least needed in that situation and should generally not stop you from attending school.
If you’re getting into trouble for wearing an incorrect uniform, and it’s not your fault, your parents may be able to sort things out with the principal or get help from the school counsellor or WINZ.
If your school provides transport (e.g. by running a school bus) to and from school, you would be under the school’s care and be expected to wear your uniform.
A school can make you wear the uniform during school visits e.g. to an art gallery, as you will be participating as a representative of the school.
A private school can make you wear a uniform to and from school if it says so in the school rules.
NZ schools are required to not discriminate against cultures or religions, this includes the school uniform.
The law says that all school charters must recognise the unique position of Maori culture in New Zealand society. Under the Treaty of Waitangi, state/integrated schools have to ensure uniform and appearance rules give Maori control over their taonga.
If you wish to dress differently at school for religious or cultural reasons, you should not be discriminated, but your school may ask you to provide evidence that there is a genuine cultural or religious reason.
Yes. The law says that transgender students must be allowed to have the gender that they identify with recorded in school. The Human Rights Commission suggests that transgender students in New Zealand should be allowed to wear the uniform of the gender that they identify with. Schools are also now encouraged to adopt gender-neutral uniform and provide safe toilets and changing facilities.
There can sometimes be other barriers to this taking place (for example paying for the uniform, and differing views between the school and your family).
You should speak with Rainbow Youth, YouthLaw or the Human Rights Commission if this is the case.
Schools can have different uniform rules for boys and girls so long as the effect of the rules aren’t discriminatory. For example, if boys must wear pants and girls must wear long skirts, then the girls might argue that this was discriminatory because they’re not given the same amount of physical freedom as the boys. But if the girls were also allowed to wear culottes then the uniform policy would still be different, but the girls’ physical freedom would no longer be different from the boys’. The rules at public and private schools can also be very different. If you are unhappy with the uniform rules, talk to your student representative or the board of trustee representative.
While everyone has the right to express themselves under the Bill of Rights Act (including your hair and the way you look), schools also have powers to make rules to run the school – so there can be two opposing views. There aren’t enough legal cases to tell us which view is more correct.
What you should know is that if there are rules, then generally, these rules can be enforced as long as they are clear and written. Your school can tell you that your hair does not meet their written rules and ask you to cut your hair, but your school can never physically cut your hair without your permission or your parents’ permission. Currently, if you choose not to follow the school rule, the school may be able to take steps to discipline you.
Schools can’t stop you from getting a piercing or tattoo in your own time (there may be other laws against that though), but they might have rules about what you can and can’t show as part of the uniform during school, and you may be disciplined if you break the school rule.
If it is a culturally or religious relevant tattoo or piercing that you want visible, you should check the uniform policy and speak with the school in the first instance. You can’t be discriminated against for your culture or religion, but you may also be required to provide evidence of the necessity of your tattoo or piercing in accordance with your culture or religion. If not, some students may find that they are asked to cover tattoos and remove piercings during school time.
Some schools have rules about wearing makeup and others don’t. To be safe, you should check your school rules and policies before deciding to wear makeup at school. Generally, if the rule is certain and specific, the school may be able to discipline you if you break the rule.
As with piercings, tattoos and hair – it can also be a form of expression, but the law is unclear as to if it’s reasonable to limit your right to express yourself through makeup or not.
School rules aren’t allowed to discriminate based on gender. But they are allowed to have different rules for boys and girls as long as they have good reasons, and they don’t give one gender more rights than the other. E.g if girls are allowed to dye their hair but boys aren’t, this would be discrimination because it gives girls more rights than boys. The rule about hair length, however, might generally be different for boys and girls.
If you’re a transgender student, then the school has to record you as the gender that you identify with. This may mean that you need to follow the rules that apply to the gender you identify with.
School rules have to be clear and certain so that it’s obvious whether you’re following them or not. If you’re not sure what the rules are, ask for a copy from the reception or your dean.
If you don’t know whether you’re following the rule or not because the rule is unclear, then it’s probably NOT an OK rule for the school to have. A judge recently decided a rule saying boys’ hair had to be ‘short’ wasn’t clear enough because ‘short’ could mean different things to different people. The school wasn’t allowed to punish a student for breaking that particular rule because it was unclear.
If you’re unhappy about something, you can talk to the student representative and ask them to raise it with the Board of Trustees. School rules are made by the Board and every Board has to have a student representative if the school has students above Year 9.
Before you decide to make an issue about a rule you don’t like, you should think about how important the issue is to you and other students.
If you choose to break a school rule, you may get a detention if it’s a minor breach. For repeated or serious instances, you could be stood down or suspended.